The Laziest Apple Pie

Sometimes you just want a pie. And by sometimes, I mean all the times and by you I mean me.

This is the easiest and bestest of pies.

I know it's probably sacrilegious in the baking blogosphere to post a pie recipe using store bought crust, but I will refer you to my first sentence and gently remind the blogosphere that sometimes when the desire for pie hits, you don't want to wait the extra time to make that delicious homemade crust, you just want your pie and you want it NOW.

Ahem.

Back to the recipe.

This one I learned from my mom. She has a giant binder of recipes that she cut out of magazines (you know, in the times before pinterest and googlereader) where she has some of the most delicious and timeless of treats, but this is by far her greatest find. It is simple and perfect.

If apple pies are going to become a regular part of your life, may I recommend investing in this contraption which will peel, core and slice your apples? It makes the laziest apple pie even lazier.

Apple cookie cutters are a fun way to decorate and you won't have to cut slits in the top.

Ingredients

• 5-6 tart apples, depending on size of apple and desired fullness of pie. Granny Smith is my apple of choice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 store-bought double crust, thawed until soft (Trader Joe's makes the best, in my humbles)
  
• 1 tablespoon butter (approximate)

Directions:

• Preheat oven at 450 degrees
• Peel and slice apples
• Sift dry ingredients together
• Mix dry ingredients with sliced apples
• Line pie pan with bottom crust
• Fill with cinnamon-sugared apples
• Dot with butter and cover with top crust, draw several slits across the top with a sharp knife
  
• Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes

Kumquat Marmalade

Our landlord has a big, beautiful kumquat tree in the yard between her home and our little guest house. It is currently full of wonderful orange fruits just begging to be used, but since I've never been an indulger of kumquats, I had to invoke the internet to figure out the best way to use them.

That is how we got a huge jar of kumquat marmalade in our fridge. And oh my god is it good. Tart and yummy and perfect with a little butter on a piece of toast. Even better if that toast is from a loaf of handmade french bread.

(note: I adapted this from a recipe that did the boiling process in the microwave so the stove top process here is only an estimate. It worked just fine for me, but using a candy thermometer to get it to the soft ball heat might make it thicken even more.)

(note 2: I doubled the original recipe because I had a basket-full of kumquats, but you could easily halve it and just add equal parts sugar to the amount of blended fruit you have.)


Ingredients

• 2lbs of kumquats
• 2 medium oranges
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups of sugar (adjust to match resulting fruit puree)

Directions

• Wash kumquats and remove stems
• Slice ends off each kumquat, cut in half and cut out white pith and seeds; discard
• Peel oranges, remove seeds and chop into chunks about the same size as the kumquat pieces
• Add the lemon juice
• Add fruits to food processor and blend until it is more finely chopped (depending on your preference fruit chunk size)
• Measure out fruit mixture - you will need an equal amount of sugar
• Mix sugar and fruit in a pan on medium heat
• Let boil - if you have a candy thermometer you want it to be at the soft ball stage
• Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature. It will firm as it cools.
• Transfer to an airtight container. It will keep for two months in the fridge and six months in the freezer.
  

Adapted from Recipe Girl

Shrimp with Cilantro and Lime

I know what you're thinking. ANOTHER shrimp recipe? Didn't you just post one?
Well, yes. Yes I did.
But shrimp is delicious. It's delicious and healthy and super easy to make. It's amazingly flavorful and requires absolutely no salt (perfect for anyone trying to cut down on sodium). Plus, it's fairly cheap to make, with only five ingredients, two of which every cook should already have in their home (I'm talking about olive oil and garlic).


Make it with my favorite brown jasmine rice and you'll have a happy.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Half a lime

Directions

• Heat oil in a large pan on medium heat
• Add shrimp and cook for about two minutes
  
• Add garlic
• Saute until shrimp is cooked
• Remove from heat
  
• Squeeze lime juice onto shrimp
• Toss with cilantro
• Serve hot with rice
  

Adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes